Counter Offensive:
Battle #1On
August 21 and 22 2004, Dream Wizards
in Rockville, Maryland, hosted an event called Counter Offensive.
Counter Offensive was similar to Fall From Grace
in that there were no entry fees, no registration, and no tournaments:
just show up and play.

I could only make it for one day,
but I decided to make the most of it, bringing along a Scout-heavy army,
all part the “Fighting Tiger Recruitment Drive,” my effort to add heaps
of Scouts to my already-too large Marine army.

The mission was taken from the Games
Workshop UK site. I had to hold onto two areas within my deployment zone—easy
enough. Brian had to cross the board and take several terrain pieces—he
had his work cut out for him. Because the “new” rules hadn’t come out yet,
we were using the “old” rules from the original 3rd Edition book, as well
as the Trial Assault Rules and Trial Vehicle rules, previously released.
We played on a table depicting a winter or arctic scene, with plenty of
sight lines for firing.

The Iron Fists went first, their
Assault Marines bounding forward—only to have the one with the plasma pistol
fail a Difficult Terrain check and die, presumably falling into an icy
crevasse. Brian’s Whirlwind missed its target, but his Devastator Squad
kakked four of my sniper-rifle Scouts and the lascannon from his Tactical
Squad brought down one of my Land Speeders.

On the Fighting Tigers’ turn, my
Devastators fired on Brian’s Devastators, killing two of them. The sniper
Scouts killed a Tactical Marine, an autocannon burst shook Brian’s Dreadnought,
and my Speeders managed to shake the Fists’ Land Raider.

Above: The
battle begins, with Iron Fist Marines advancing on the Tigers

On Turn Two, Brian’s Whirlwind missed
again and the rest of the Fists’ fire was ineffectual. Daksha Ram and one
squad of “assault” Scouts killed four Tactical Marines while the other
“assault” Scout squad charged the Fists’ Assault squad, killing one of
them and preventing them from reaching the Tigers’ lines. Tiger fire brought
down another of Brian’s Devastators and immobilized (and shook) his Land
Raider. The Veteran Squad inside was having a very hard time of it….

Above: "Assault"
Scouts move to head off the Fists

On Brian’s third turn, his Iron Fists
finally got in some good shooting. His Whirlwind pasted three sniper Scouts
(pinning them) and his Devastator Squad bagged another. His Tactical Squads
teamed up with his Dreadnought to go after my pesky Land Speeders, killing
one, blowing the multi-melta off another, and shaking another. Another
Tactical Squad gunned down three of my “assault” Scouts, forcing them to
fall back. In melee, the Iron Fist Assault Marines hacked down four Scouts
and lost one of their own.

Above: Firefight
over open ground

I responded by having my Devastator
Squad fire again into Brian’s Devastators, killing another poor bastard
with a missile launcher. More fire shook the Fists’ Land Raider and Whirlwind.
Daksha Ram and the black-and-white “assault” Scouts counterattacked Brian’s
Assault Marines, killing two and losing two. Everyone was still stuck in
with the Fists’ Veteran Sergeant.

On Turn Four, Brian’s Veteran Squad
finally emerged from their Land Raider and started moving toward my lines.
In close combat, Daksha Ram cut down the Assault Marine Veteran Sergeant
and my “assault “ Scouts consolidated toward Brian’s Tactical Squads. In
my Shooting Phase, my Vindicator killed six of Brian’s Veterans and my
Devastator Squad killed another—that’ll teach ‘em to get out of their ride!
The remaining Vets wisely decided to fall back. I fired on the Whirlie
several times but didn’t even shake it—now it was free to paste some more
Scouts next turn. One of my autocannons immobilized the Fists’ Dread, encouraging
Daksha Ram and his Scouts to approach one of Brian’s nearby Tactical Squads.

Above: Fighting
Tigers claim the objectives and the game

As expected, the Fists’ Whirlwind
fired again on Turn Five, appropriately killing five Scouts. Brian’s
Vets and Tac Squads aimed for my Land Speeders, which were buzzing his
lines. The Dreadnought couldn’t move but it could fire a heavy flamer on
my approaching “assault” Scouts, killing two and driving away one squad.
Nevertheless, on my turn, Daksha Ram and the remaining “assault” Scouts
wiped out Brian’s nearest Tactical Squad, claiming an objective for me.

The last turn was just mopping up,
with the Fists unable to grab enough objectives. Translated into American
football parlance, the Tigers “ran out the clock.”